International Flavors & Fragrances beats quarterly sales and profit estimates 

May 5 (Reuters) – Food ingredients maker International Flavors & Fragrances beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter sales and profit on Tuesday, helped by steady demand for its products. 

The company has been selling its non-core businesses and sharpening its focus on flavors, fragrances and health ingredients as consumer spending on health and wellness remains resilient amid macroeconomic uncertainties.

• Shares of the New York-based company were up about 5% in after-market trading.

• Last year, the company sold its pharma solutions business to French plant-based ingredients maker Roquette in a deal valued at $2.85 billion.

• Adjusted operating Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation for IFF’s food ingredients segment rose 12% in the quarter, but the scent segment’s fell 2% due to high input costs.

• “We delivered volume growth in all four segments, improved profitability, and generated strong cash flow in the first quarter,” said CEO Erik Fyrwald.

• The company’s quarterly net sales of $2.74 billion beat analysts’ average estimate of $2.64 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

• It posted quarterly adjusted profit of $1.25 per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of $1.07.

• The company, which provides ingredients and flavor solutions for food and beverage products, maintained its annual sales forecast in the range of $10.5 billion to $10.8 billion.

• IFF also reaffirmed its annual forecast for adjusted operating core profit of $2.05 billion to $2.15 billion.

(Reporting by Koyena Das and Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)